Method of determining optimal cell configuration based upon determined device location

ABSTRACT

A configuration device for configuring a wireless device within a wireless cell can include a receiving unit configured to receive a request message from a wireless device within a wireless cell. In addition, the configuration device can include a first processing unit configured to determine location information of the wireless device, and a second processing unit configured to determine a communication capacity of the wireless device, and to estimate a communication requirement based on the request message. Furthermore, the configuration device can have a transmitting unit configured to transmit optimal information to the wireless device with respect to the request message.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present U.S. Utility patent application claims priority under 35U.S.C. §120, as a continuation of U.S. Utility patent application Ser.No. 12/876,613, filed Sep. 7, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,112,098, whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

The Ser. No. 12/876,613 application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.§120, as a continuation of U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No.10/314,306, filed Dec. 9, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,818,015, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

The Ser. No. 10/314,306 application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/409,939, filed Sep.12, 2002, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety forall purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for usingsignal-generated location information to optimally configure a wirelesscell network, within a wireless communication network environment suchas IEEE 802.11, BLUETOOTH™, Ultra-Wideband (UWB) or any other wirelessenvironment. In particular, the present invention relates to a method ofand a system of optimally configuring a wireless device within awireless cell based on the distance range location information and/orthe geographic position location information of the wireless device. Thepresent invention can be implemented in a wireless network device, whichmay include discrete devices or which may be implemented on asemiconductor substrate such as a silicon chip.

2. Description of the Related Art

Currently, cables and wires are predominately used as the communicationmedium for transferring information such as voice, video, data, etc.from one source to another. For example, cables or wires are commonlyused to set up networking infrastructures in business offices, and arealso used for personal home computing, and for connecting to theInternet. Therefore, cables and wires are generally used to configure awired network wherein the cables and wires physically connect one ormore device(s) to the wired network. And because the devices within thewired network are physically connected to the network, they remainstationary. Thus, reconfiguration of the wired network seldom occurs ona regular basis.

On the other hand, as wireless technology continues to advance and grow,the usage and the popularity of wireless devices will also increase andgrow. Therefore, there may be an increase in wireless cell networks forproviding coverage of wireless services therein. Since wireless devicescan be mobile, wireless cell configuration can be implemented on atask-by-task basis to achieve optimal results. Accordingly, one way tooptimize wireless cell configuration is to provide optimal locationinformation within the wireless cell using determined signal-generatedlocation information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to apparatus and methods of operationthat are further described in the following Brief Description of theDrawings, the Detailed Description of the Invention, and the claims.Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of the invention madewith reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For proper understanding of the invention, reference should be made tothe accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a wireless network configuration;

FIG. 2 illustrates another example of a wireless network configuration;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart illustrating one example of a method ofusing signal-generated location information to configure a wireless cellnetwork, according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates one example of a hardware configuration forconfiguring wireless devices in a wireless cell based onsignal-generated location information, according to the presentinvention; and

FIG. 5 illustrates one example of a topography display, according to thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

One example of the present invention can be a method of configuring awireless device within a wireless cell. The method can include the stepsof receiving a request message from a wireless device within a wirelesscell, determining location information of the wireless device, anddetermining a communication capacity of the wireless device. Inaddition, the method can include the steps of estimating a communicationrequirement based on the request message, and providing optimalinformation to the wireless device with respect to the request message.

In another example, the present invention can relate to a configurationdevice for configuring a wireless device within a wireless cell. Theconfiguration device can have a receiving unit configured to receive arequest message from a wireless device within a wireless cell, a firstprocessing unit configured to determine location information of thewireless device, and a second processing unit configured to determine acommunication capacity of the wireless device. The second processingunit can also estimate a communication requirement based on the requestmessage. In addition, the configuration device can have a transmittingunit configured to transmit optimal information to the wireless devicewith respect to the request message.

Additionally, another example of the present invention can provide asystem of configuring a wireless device within a wireless cell. Thesystem can include a receiving means for receiving a request messagefrom a wireless device within a wireless cell, a first determining meansfor determining location information of the wireless device, and asecond determining means for determining a communication capacity of thewireless device. Furthermore, the system can have an estimating meansfor estimating a communication requirement based on the request message,and a providing means for providing optimal information to the wirelessdevice with respect to the request message.

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a wireless network. The wirelessnetwork of FIG. 1 can be an ad hoc network 100 having two or morewireless nodes, stations or devices 101 a, 101 b, 101 c, . . . 101 ntherein (hereinafter, any reference to device(s) shall also includenode(s) and/or station(s)). The ad hoc network 100 can be formed on atemporary basis whereby two or more wireless devices can recognize eachother and can establish communications with each other. The wirelessdevices can be any wireless communication device configured tocommunicate with the Internet and having multimedia capabilities. Forexample, devices 101 a, 101 b, 101 c, . . . 101 n can be a smart phone,PDA, a mobile laptop computer, a web-pad, a digital video camera, anautomobile equipped with a wireless communication device, or any mobileelectronic device. Within the ad hoc wireless network 100, each devicecan communicate with each other on a peer-to-peer level.

Another example of a wireless network is shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2provides a wireless infrastructure network 210 containing an AccessPoint 215 connected with a LAN 205, such as an Ethernet LAN. Inaddition, the wireless infrastructure network 210 can contain devices220 a, 220 b, 220 c, 220 d, . . . 220 n. The Access Point 215 isconnected to the LAN 205 by wires or cables and can be formed as part ofthe wired network infrastructure 205, having at least one serviceprovider 200. The service provider 200 can include one or more server(s)connected to the LAN 205. One function of the Access Point 215 can be abridge or a connection between the wireless network 210 and the wirednetwork 205. Accordingly, all communications between the devices 220 a,220 b, 220 c, 220 d, . . . 220 n or between the devices and the wirednetwork 205 can go through Access Point 215.

The examples of wireless networks as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 canuse wireless technologies such as IEEE 802.11, BLUETOOTH™, UWB, etc.

FIG. 3 illustrates one example of a method of optimally configuring awireless cell network using signal-generated location information inaccordance with the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 3 illustratesone example of a method of using signal-generated location information,such as distance range location information and/or geographic positionlocation information of a wireless device to optimally configure awireless cell network having the wireless device therein. The method ofthe present example can be implemented in hardware, or software, or acombination of both hardware and software.

As mentioned above, as wireless technology continues to advance andgrow, the usage and the popularity of wireless devices will alsoincrease. Similarly, as wireless service providers offer more andconvenient ways to access resources such as the Internet, the number ofwireless cell providing coverage for network customers or users willincrease. In order for the wireless network service provider to ensurethat the connection and the communication with the wireless network isat an optimum, signal-generated location information of the wirelessdevice within the wireless cell network can be used to optimallyconfigure the wireless cell. Therefore, FIG. 3 illustrates one exampleof using signal-generated location information of a wireless device tooptimally configure a wireless cell.

A user having a wireless device can either enter or can already exist ina geographic area having a wireless cell network and having wirelessservice coverage provide therein. The wireless network can be configuredsimilar to the wireless network as shown in FIG. 2.

The wireless network can contain a configuration device, which acts asan access point for the wireless cell network. The configuration devicecan be connected to a wired LAN having a server. The wired LAN can be anEthernet LAN wherein the Ethernet LAN includes one or more serviceprovider(s). The user within the wireless cell network coverage area cansend a request message from the wireless device to the configurationdevice. The request message can be a request to perform a specified tasksuch as accessing resources or accessing services provided by or throughthe wireless cell network. The request message can include informationsuch as the type of the wireless device, the data rate capacity of thewireless device, etc. In addition, the request message can be a requestto perform a specified task wherein the request message can includeinformation such as the type of task, the preferable data rate toachieve, the source and destination information, the priority of thetask, etc. The configuration device can receive the request message fromthe user at step 300 of FIG. 3.

After the configuration device receives the request message, theconfiguration device initiates a signal-generating location informationfeature within the configuration device to determine the locationinformation of the user who sent the request message at step 305. Theconfiguration device can determine the location information such as thedistance range location information or the geographic locationinformation of the customer in various ways.

In one example, the configuration device can start by transmittingsignals such as UWB signals within a predetermined default distancerange at a corresponding power output level to locate the user'swireless device as well as other wireless devices within the wirelesscell network. The configuration device can transmit UWB signals inunidirectional mode or omni-directional mode. In addition, theconfiguration device can transmit signals in pulses with short dutycycles.

After the transmission of signals either uni-directionally oromni-directionally, the transmitted signals can come into contact withthe user's wireless device, and thereafter the signals can reflect backto the configuration device where the reflected signals can be receivedby the receiver within the configuration device.

Thereafter, the configuration device can monitor and register the timingof the transmission of the signals as well as the timing of thepropagation of the signals. For example, the configuration device canmonitor and record the time each signal is transmitted. Once thetransmitted signals are reflected back and received by the receiver, theconfiguration device can monitor and record the time each signal isreceived. Based on this information, the configuration device canmeasure the total time duration for a signal to travel from thetransmitter of the configuration device to the user's wireless device,and to reflect back and received by the receiver.

Based on this information and other factors, such as propagation delay,obstructions, the direction and angle of the signal transmission, thespeed at which the signal travels compared to the speed at which lighttravels, etc., the configuration device can process the information in alocation information processor to determine the distance range of theuser's wireless device within the wireless cell network.

In another example, the configuration device can start by transmitting arange message signal to the user's wireless device within the wirelesscell network. The range message signal can be sent out from atransmitter within the configuration device. In addition, the rangemessage signals can be UWB signals transmitted in short duty cycles at astarting time T, such as T=0. Similar to the example above, thetransmission of the range message signals can be unidirectional oromni-directional.

After sending the range message signals to the user's wireless device,the use's wireless device can receive the range message signal at a timeT1. T1 for example, can be the sum of time T, the time of the processingdelay ΔP, and the time of the first propagation delay ΔT₁. Thus, theuser's wireless device can receive the range message signal at time T1,and can be represented as follows:T1=T+ΔP+ΔT ₁

Once the user's wireless device receives the range message signals, theuser's wireless device can process the received range message signal.The user's wireless device can determine whether or not to furtherestablish communication with the configuration device, and abort therequest. In the alternative, the user's wireless device canautomatically respond and can send a range message acknowledgementsignal to the configuration device. The range message acknowledgementsignal can contain various information about the available device, suchas the user's user ID, personal password, cryptography protocol, etc.The user's wireless device can send the range message acknowledgementsignal at time T2. T2 for example, can be the sum of time T, the time ofthe processing delay ΔP, the time of the first propagation delay ΔT₁,and the turn-around time ΔTA. The turn-around time ΔTA can represent theperiod of time from the time the user's wireless device receives therange message signal to the time the user's wireless device transmitsthe range message acknowledgement signal. Accordingly, time T2 can berepresented as the following equation.T2=T+ΔP+ΔT ₁ +ΔTA

At time T2, a range message acknowledgement signal can be sent from theuser's wireless device to the configuration device. After the rangemessage acknowledgement signal reaches the configuration device, therange message acknowledgement signal can be received by the receiver.Once the range message acknowledgment signal is received, theconfiguration device can thereby determine a total time T_(Total). Thetotal time T_(Total) can be the sum of time T2 and the secondpropagation time delay ΔT₂. Accordingly, the total time T_(Total) can berepresented by the following equation.T _(Total) =T2+ΔT ₂

Based on the total time T_(Total), the information embedded within therange message acknowledgement signal, and other factors such as devicerelated delays, the configuration device can determine the distancerange of the user's wireless device.

In yet another example, the configuration device can determine thegeographic position of the user's wireless device. The configurationdevice can start by determining the surrounding environment in relationto itself. This information can be already stored within theconfiguration device if the configuration device remains relativelystationary, or the configuration device can determine the geographicarea surrounding itself through a geographic position unit or otherpositioning systems such as a Global Positioning System.

Next, the configuration device of the present example can determine itsown position in relation to the immediate surrounding environment.Again, this information can be already stored within the configurationdevice if the configuration device remains relatively stationary. Forexample, the configuration device can access data regarding the interiordesign or interior layout of the immediate environment instantly from astorage unit. In the alternative, the configuration device can transmitinitial detecting pulse signals to detect the interior design orinterior layout of the surrounding area.

After determining the immediate surrounding geographic area in relationto its own position, the configuration device can determine the distancerange of the user's wireless devices by way of the examples mentionedabove. The steps of determining the distance range can include the stepstransmitting signals within the surrounding environment, receiving oneor more second signal(s), and measuring the total propagation time, etc.

Once the configuration device has determined the distance range of theuser's wireless device in relation to its own position, theconfiguration device can thereafter determine the coordinates of theuser's wireless device based on information such as the distance rangeinformation, the surrounding geographic environment information, theglobal geographic positioning information, etc. The coordinates of theuser's wireless device can in part determine the geographic position ofuser's location.

It is noted that although the examples provided above can determine thedistance range location information and/or the geographic positionlocation information of a singular wireless device, the presentinvention can determine the location information of a plurality ofwireless devices within a wireless cell network. It is further notedthat the location information of each wireless device can assist in thedetermination of the signal propagation characteristics of each wirelessdevice.

Following the determination of the location information of the user'swireless device, the configuration device can determine thecommunication capacity of the user's wireless device at step 310. Inother words, the configuration device can determine the communicationcapacity such as the data type capacity and the data rate capacity ofthe user's wireless device. The data type capacity can inform theconfiguration device about the types of data the user's wireless devicecan manage. For instance, the data type capacity can inform theconfiguration device whether the user's wireless device can manageaudio, video and/or text, etc. Similarly, the data rate capacity caninform the configuration device about the data rates the user's wirelessdevice can achieve. The communication capacity information correspondingto the user's wireless device can be embedded in the request message orcan be embedded in a separate message signal from the wireless device tothe configuration device. Furthermore, the communication capacityinformation can be preprogrammed within a look-up table or a storageunit in the configuration device, and can be accessed by an identifierof the wireless device.

Furthermore, after receiving the request message sent from the user'swireless device, the configuration device can estimate a communicationrequirement with respect to the request message to perform a specifiedtask at step 315. In other words, the configuration device can receive arequest to perform a specified task, and thereafter can estimate orassess the requirement(s) such as the data type requirement(s) and/orthe data rate requirement(s) to execute the requested task. Forinstance, suppose a configuration device receives a request message sentfrom a user operating on a wireless device. The request message requeststo download a multimedia file from the Internet, wherein the multimediafile contains text, audio and video data. Upon receiving the requestmessage, the configuration device determines that the task requested isto download a multimedia file from the Internet. The configurationdevice then evaluates the task and estimates what is required to performthe task. In doing so, the configuration device estimates that the taskrequires text, audio and video data processing capabilities, andestimates the necessary data rate to complete the task in a given timeframe.

After the configuration device estimates the communicationrequirement(s) to perform the specified task, the configuration devicecan evaluate and assess the location information of all the wirelessdevices including the user's wireless device within the wireless cell,the propagation characteristics of each wireless device, thecommunication capacity of each wireless device, the communicationrequirement(s) to perform the specified task, etc., and determine aprimary optimal location and/or a primary optimal device which canoptimally execute the specified task as well as secondary optimallocations and secondary optimal devices, and so forth.

Once the configuration device makes its evaluation and assessment ofwhat is or are the optimal location(s) and/or the optimal device(s), theconfiguration device can transmit a recommendation signal to thewireless device recommending one or more optimal location(s) and/oroptimal device(s) to the user for performing the specified task at step320. The configuration device can recommend and provide the optimalinformation to the wireless device in various ways such as a listing ofoptimal devices with corresponding optimal locations along with thecorresponding data rates and data types information, or a topography maphaving the optimal locations indicated thereon as shown on FIG. 5, orany combination thereof.

FIG. 5 shows one example of a display illustrating optimal locations andoptimal devices for the wireless device to perform a specified task.FIG. 5 shows a topography map 500 that can represent the interior layoutsuch as a floor plan of a geographic area where the wireless device islocated therein. The topography map 500 includes a configuration device505 that can function as a master device or an Access Point. Theconfiguration device 505 is located in hallway 506. In addition,topography map 500 shows four separate work areas 501, 502, 503 and 504.It is noted that the topography map 500 can represent actual detectedwireless devices within the topographic area in solid lines and optimallocations in broken lines. In other words, topography map 500 shows workareas 501 and 504 as having actual detected wireless devices 515 and510, respectively, and shows work areas 502, 503 and hallway 506 ashaving optimal locations to perform a requested specified task.

Topography map 500 of FIG. 5 also displays device 515 and optimallocation 530 in bold which can represent that the device 515 and theoptimal location 530 represent the primary optimal device and theprimary optimal location. Therefore, the example shown in topography map500 of FIG. 5 can recommend the user requesting to perform a specifiedtask that the wireless device 515 located in work area 501 can be theprimary optimal device to perform the task, and that location 530 inhallway 506 can be the primary optimal location to achieve the task.Locations 520 and 525 can be secondary optimal locations to achieve thetask. It is noted that topography map 500 can be supplemented withadditional information on the same display or on a separate portion ofthe display. The additional information can be corresponding datacapabilities information such as data types and data rates, thecoordinates of the location. Therefore, the configuration device of thepresent invention can provide the wireless device a topography mapindicating the primary optimal information and the secondary primaryinformation thereon at step 325.

FIG. 4 illustrates one example of a hardware configuration that can usedetermined location information to configure a wireless device within awireless cell network, in accordance with the present invention. Inaddition, the hardware configuration of FIG. 4 can be in an integrated,modular and single chip solution, and therefore can be embodied on asemiconductor substrate, such as silicon. Alternatively, the hardwareconfiguration of FIG. 4 can be a plurality of discrete components on acircuit board. The configuration can also be implemented as a generalpurpose device configured to implement the invention with software.

FIG. 4 illustrates a configuration device 400 configured to configureone or more wireless device(s) within a wireless cell network based onsignal-generated location information of the wireless device(s). Theconfiguration device 400 contains a receiver 405 and a transmitter 410.The transmitter 410 can transmit electro-magnetic signals as well asvarious other signals including UWB signals. The transmitter 410 cantransmit signals in short pulses in short duty cycles. In thealternative, the receiver 405 can receive electro-magnetic signals aswell as various other signals including UWB signals.

Furthermore, the configuration device 400 can include a geographicpositioning unit 415 and a memory 435. The geographic positioning unit415 can store geographic positioning information and interior floor planinformation for a specific geographic area. Furthermore, the memory 435can store information such as geographic maps, device capabilityinformation, or can store default values and look-up table, etc.

FIG. 4 also shows a processing unit 420, and a location informationprocessing unit 425 for determining the location information such as thedistance range or geographic location information of the wirelessdevices. It is noted that the location information processing unit 425can be a separate processing unit. It is further noted that although thelocation information processing unit 425 is shown to be within theprocessing unit 420, the location information processing unit 425 can bea separate and distinct processing unit from the processing unit 420.

Therefore, the processing unit 420 can be the main processing unit andcan process functions that are outside the functions of the locationinformation processing unit 425. The location information processingunit 425 can therefore perform all the functions and tasks related tothe determining of the range and geographic position locationinformation of the available wireless devices. For instance, thelocation information processing unit 425 can measure or calculate theperiod of time period from the time a first signal is transmitted to thetime a second signal is received. Similarly, the location informationprocessing unit 425 can perform all the functions and tasks related tothe determining of the geographic position of the available wirelessdevices. These processing functions can include determining thegeographic coordinates of the available wireless devices within thesurrounding geographic environment of the configuration device 400.

Furthermore, FIG. 4 includes an optimal information processing unit 430and a display 440. The optimal processing unit 430 can perform tasks andfunction related to determining the communication capacity of a wirelessdevice, estimating the communication requirements to perform a specifiedtask, determining what the task is, determining which device or whichlocation is the primary optimal information and which are the secondaryoptimal information, etc. The display 440 can be a plasma display, a LCDdisplay or various other types of display for displaying multimediainformation.

One having ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that theinvention as discussed above may be practiced with steps in a differentorder, and/or with hardware elements in configurations which aredifferent than those which are disclosed. Therefore, although theinvention has been described based upon these preferred embodiments, itwould be apparent to those of skill in the art that certainmodifications, variations, and alternative constructions would beapparent, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the invention.In order to determine the metes and bounds of the invention, therefore,reference should be made to the appended claims.

1. A method comprising: receiving a request, at a first wireless devicein a network, to perform a specified task from a second wireless devicein the network, in which the network has a plurality of wirelessdevices; determining, at the first wireless device, data requirement toperform the specified task requested by the second wireless device;identifying, at the first wireless device, an optimal device in thenetwork to provide the specified task based on the data requirement, inwhich the optimal device is one of the plurality of wireless devices inthe network; identifying, at the first wireless device, an optimallocation within the network to perform the specified task; andtransmitting from the first wireless device to the second wirelessdevice, an indication of the optimal device to perform the specifiedtask and the optimal location to perform the specified task.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the data requirement includes a type of datato be transmitted.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the datarequirement includes a data rate that is to be transmitted.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the data requirement includes a data ratethat is to be transmitted in a given time frame.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein the indication is to be displayed on a topography map of thenetwork.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the optimaldevice includes identifying a primary optimal device and a secondaryoptimal device to perform the specified task and the indication providesboth the primary and secondary optimal devices to the second wirelessdevice.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, at thefirst wireless device, locations of the plurality of wireless devices inthe network.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the optimaldevice and optimal location, at the first wireless device, includesidentifying a primary optimal device and a secondary optimal device toperform the specified task based on the data requirement, and a primaryoptimal location and a secondary optimal location to perform thespecified task, and the indication provides both the primary andsecondary optimal devices and primary and secondary optimal locations tothe second wireless device.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein theindication is to be displayed on a topography map of the network.
 10. Anapparatus comprising: a receiver to receive a request from a wirelessdevice in a network to perform a specified task for the wireless device,in which the network has a plurality of wireless devices and theapparatus is part of the network; a processing unit, coupled to thereceiver, to determine data requirement to perform the specified taskrequested by the wireless device based on the data requirement, and toidentify an optimal device in the network to provide the specified task,in which the optimal device is one of the plurality of wireless devicesin the network, and the processing unit to determine an optimal locationin the network to perform the specified task; and a transmitter, coupledto the processing unit, to transmit to the wireless device, anindication of the optimal device to perform the specified task and theoptimal location to perform the specified task.
 11. The apparatus ofclaim 10, wherein the apparatus to operate as an access point in thenetwork.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processing unitdetermines the data requirement to include a type of data or data ratethat is to be transmitted.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein theprocessing unit to identify a primary optimal device and a secondaryoptimal device to perform the specified task based on the datarequirement, and the indication provides both the primary and secondaryoptimal devices to the wireless device.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11,further comprising a display in which the indication is to be displayedon a topography map of the network.
 15. An apparatus comprising: areceiver to receive a request from a wireless device in a network toperform a specified task for the wireless device, in which the networkhas a plurality of wireless devices and the apparatus is part of thenetwork; a processing unit, coupled to the receiver, to determinelocations of the plurality of wireless devices in the network, and theprocessing unit to determine data requirement to perform the specifiedtask requested by the wireless device and to identify an optimal devicein the network to provide the specified task based on the datarequirement, and an optimal location within the network to perform thespecified task, in which the optimal device is one of the plurality ofwireless devices in the network; and a transmitter, coupled to theprocessing unit, to transmit to the wireless device, an indication ofthe optimal device and the optimal location to perform the specifiedtask.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus to operate asan access point in the network.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16, whereinthe processing unit determines the data requirement to include a type ofdata or a data rate that is to be transmitted.
 18. The apparatus ofclaim 16, wherein the processing unit to identify a primary optimaldevice and a secondary optimal device to perform the specified taskbased on the data requirement, and a primary optimal location andsecondary optimal location to perform the task, and the indication toprovide both the primary and secondary optimal devices and both theprimary and secondary optimal locations to the wireless device.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 16, further comprising a display in which theindication is to be displayed on a topography map of the network. 20.The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the transmitter to communicate withinthe network utilizing a communication specification based on IEEE802.11, Bluetooth or Ultra Wide Band (UWB).